1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an automatic banking or teller machine (ATM) and, more particularly, to ATMs which may be installed in free-standing locations either remote from central banks or at locations accessible to customers in or adjacent central banks for dispensing paper currency or notes of one or more denominations.
More particularly, the invention relates to a friction picker mechanism of simple construction for reliably feeding paper notes one at a time from a supply stack of notes.
Further, the invention relates to a new friction picker mechanism which eliminates complicated pneumatic or suction picker components and combines in the new simple and reliable friction picker device known doubles detecting components; which such combined friction picker mechanism eliminates diversion of doubles when detected from a path of travel to a note delivery station; which mechanism eliminates transport means for delivering detected doubles to a divert container; which mechanism eliminates a divert container for receiving detected doubles and security devices therefor; which mechanism eliminates belt conveyors or like transport devices as a part or component of the friction picker mechanism; and which mechanism permits delivery of picked notes being dispensed directly to a delivery station which may be an access opening in the fascia of an ATM.
Also the invention relates to a mechanism which simplifies note timing as a part of the feeding of notes one at a time from a note supply stack to a delivery station with controlled spacing of the notes more consistently than is present in prior ATM note dispensers.
In addition, the invention relates to a new friction picker mechanism concept wherein detected doubles are returned by the mechanism to the supply stack of notes for separation and redispensing.
Also the invention relates to a new friction picker mechanism characterized by simplifying servicing and maintenance because of the mechanism's simple and reliable construction and operation, all of which significantly reduce the costs of picker mechanism manufacture, repair and maintenance.
Finally, the invention relates to a new friction picker mechanism which is characterized by having all of the features described combined in a cooperative and interrelated manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types and kinds of picker mechanisms are known in various arts for feeding sheets, documents, currency and the like, from a stack thereof to another location. Traditionally, picker mechanisms for ATMs which pick notes from a stack and deliver the notes one at a time to a customer delivery station have been pneumatic or suction type picker devices, such as disclosed in Graef et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,355,797 for example. Inherently such suction picker devices are complicated in construction and opration, they have many parts or components, and they may be relatively slow in operation. It is, thus, desirable to avoid the complicated structure and complicated and slow operation of suction picker devices.
Other sheet, document or currency picker devices have involved friction members which pull or wipe sheets from a stack thereof to feed the sheets to a downstream location. Still other picker devices include components which push the outer document from the stack to move a downstream end of the document to a feed roll stand. Sometimes the downstream end of the pushed document has been retarded to separate the document from the next document in the stack. This push-retard picker may be used where the paper or document is stiff and does not crumple under push-retard pressure. Such procedure cannot be used in picking paper notes since they are not stiff enough to avoid being crumped or crushed when handled by push-retard means.
Prior art patents showing various paper or sheet feeder or separator devices include U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,174,391, 4,208,046, 4,232,860 and 4,239,203. These devices include roll stands having circumferentially complete rubber or other similar frictional surfaces for feeding the articles being picked. In some instances one of a pair of friction surfaced rolls is a counter-rotating roll for separating the outer from the next document in a supply stack. Such types of paper or sheet feeders may not be reliably used for dispensing currency notes since they do not guard against the delivery of doubles.
Other prior suction or friction types of separators or feeders in the paper money dispensing field are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,154,437, 4,158,456 and 4,159,782 wherein the presence of doubles is detected. However, these devices require complicated assemblies and components. Belt conveyors are required as a part of the feeding and picking operation or for conveying doubles to a place of storage, and storage devices are also required for the diverted doubles.
Still another type of sheet separator and feeder mechanism used for feeding mixed thickness pieces, such as pieces of mail in the Postal Service, is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,298. In this device, a flexible belt strips the outer piece to be fed from the lower end of a stack of envelopes under pressure to push the piece forward where a counter-rotating roll retards such movement before the piece reaches a feed means roll stand including one of the belt conveyor rolls, to prevent the feeding of more than one piece. Here again a belt conveyor component is required as a part of the picking and feeding mechanism.
The prior art thus fails to provide a simple and reliable low cost friction picker mechanism for dispensing paper currency notes, or which eliminates the necessity of providing belt conveyors, or divert containers, or of diverting detected doubles from the note delivery path.
Further, the prior friction picker paper note dispensing art fails to provide a simple friction picker mechanism having a picker mechanism ordinarily operating with a reversely rotating friction roll or retarding device to separate the outer note of a supply stack from the next adjacent note during feeding, but which, in the event of separation failure, automatically returns the doubles to the stack.
Thus, a need has long existed in the banking field for a new type of picker mechanism for ATMs which is simple and low cost in construction, operation and maintenance, and which is reliable in feeding paper notes one at a time from a stack of notes directly to the customer delivery station.